6 Gorakhpur cops accused of murder

The scared youths jumped into the river, while the other two managed to swim out, Yadav was drowned in the river.

According to sources, repair work was going on at Chithari dam on the Rapti. Local residents had raised objections over the quality of work and asked the contractor to stop the work.

Ram Prasad, a resident of Gopalpur village, said the villagers gathered at the dam to organise a protest on Sunday evening.

The contractor informed the police, which rushed to the spot and caned the villagers to disperse them.

Panicked villagers tried to escape and three youths, Santraj Yadav 18, Mantu 12 and Rahul 14, took a boat and tried to row away, said Ram Prasad.

The policemen trained their rifles at them and threatened to shoot them, forcing the scared boys to jump into the river. While Mantu and Rahul escaped, Santraj was drowned.

Gorakhpur Senior Superintendent of Police R K Shrivastava said the villagers lodged a complaint of murder against Sub-inspector Awadhesh Pandey and five constables.

8220;All the policemen have been suspended and attached to police lines,8221; he said.